34 Judith Sargent Murray - Gloucester HarborWalk

2081

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34 Judith Sargent Murray

“I would calmly ask, is it reasonable, that a candidate for immortality, for the joys of heaven, an intelligent being, who is to spend an eternity in contemplating the works of Deity, should at present be so degraded, as to be allowed no other ideas, than those suggested by the mechanism of a pudding, or the sewing (of) the seams of a garment?... Are we deficient in reason? We can only reason from what we know, and if opportunity of acquiring knowledge hath been denied us, the inferiority of our sex cannot fairly be deduced from thence.”

— Judith Sargent Murray “On the Equality of the Sexes” — 1790

Judith Sargent Murray, a writer and philosopher, was an early published champion of women’s equality in the New Republic. She married Reverend John Murray, pastor of the first Universalist church in America. This high-style Georgian house was built by her first husband, Captain John Stevens in 1782. The house is open seasonally and contains noted family portraits, decorative arts, and a small collection of works by her great grand nephew, John Singer Sargent.

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Judith Sargent Murray (1751-1820) was an early champion of women’s equality in the New Republic. She lived in this house with her first husband, Captain John Stevens, who built it for her in 1782, the same year that she began to publish. After his death, she shared this home for several years with her second husband, Reverend John Murray, who founded the first Universalist church in America, and with whom she collaborated. This historic house museum is open seasonally and features: a small collection of works by her great grand nephew, John Singer Sargent (1856-1925); noted family portraits; decorative arts; and the “writing closet” where Sargent Murray wrote essays, poetry, and plays, and where she corresponded with some of the American Revolution’s most important figures.

Sargent House Museum Hours& Events

2010 Master Class 1794 Poem (4:15)

2010 Master Class 1794 poem (4:15 min)

Courtesy of Boston Public Library Rare Books and Manuscripts. bostonliteraryhistory.com

Sargent House Video Tour Part III (4:53)

Sargent House Video Tour Part III

Courtesy of GoodMorningGloucester.com award winning local media blog